Tragedy at the Waterfront
A nine-year-old boy drowns while swimming near the foot of Depot Street, highlighting the dangers of the bay for city children in 1892.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Fred Carter, the 9-year-old son of Henry H. Carter, an insurance solicitor, who lives at 13 Oak street, was drowned yesterday while swimming in the bay. Last evening at 5 o'clock Fred Carter and an older brother were bathing in the bay off the foot of Depot street. A raft attracting their attention, they climbed on top of it and paddled out into deep water. Fred sprang overboard and the almost ice-cold water caused him to be taken with a cramp, and he never came to the surface. A fisherman and a beachcomber, whose names could not be learned, came along in a boat about fifteen minutes later, and upon being told of the drowning, the beachcomber slipped out of his clothes, dived to the bottom of the bay and brought up the lifeless form of the boy. Every measure known was resorted to in an effort to resuscitate the boy, but without avail; he was past all recovery, and his body was taken to the house of his parents. The funeral will take place tomorrow. Coroner Horton was notified of the drowning, but has deemed an inquest unnecessary.
“Fred sprang overboard and the almost ice-cold water caused him to be taken with a cramp, and he never came to the surface.”
This heartbreaking story illustrates how the waterfront was once a playground for city youth before the massive industrialization and regrades of the early 20th century transformed the shoreline into the seawall and piers we know today.
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